Music subscriptions are all the rage now - most people I know use either Spotify or the services offered by Google and Apple. Not mentioned as much is, erm, Amazon, and its oft-forgotten Music service that acts as a locker for music purchased on and through Amazon. According to Recode, the company plans to reinvent it by introducing two music streaming services with different aims.

The first is similar to what you'd expect: $10 a month for all-you-can-stream music, akin to Spotify or other offerings. The other option Amazon is considering is more unusual. This would only work through Amazon's Echo hardware, so not on phones, tablets, or the web, and cost $4 or $5 a month. It'd still be ad-free and offer unlimited streaming, but only for the specific Echo and Echo Dot hardware. It's not clear if the service would work on the Alexa-enabled Amazon Tap, which has Alexa built-in but is not an Echo device.

This approach is contrary to how the rest of the industry thinks: that users want to take their music anywhere. But if Amazon can make it work, good for them - I applaud them for thinking out of the box. Recode doesn't say when the new services might launch, but it'll have to be soon if Amazon wants to beat Google Home, which of course already has a music subscription service in Play Music.

Source: Recode